BluePay Review

Hidden Fee Complaints

There are over 45 negative BluePay reviews filed online, which is a low-to-moderate total for the company’s size and time in business. The majority of the complaints relate to “hidden fees” or unexpected costs that were not revealed during the sales process. Many of those same merchants also complained about being surprised by the $295 early cancellation fee.

Fund Hold Issues

Several recent complaints report that BluePay placed holds on a merchants funds in the from of a cash reserve or security hold. In one case, BluePay responded, stating that the merchant had misrepresented his business type. Generally speaking, holds of these types are not an issue for merchants with U.S.-based businesses and low chargeback rates, so we are inclined to believe that BluePay acted in accordance with standard industry practices in this case. Merchants operating in high risk industries, however, should consider opting for a top-rated high risk merchant account to ensure their needs are met.

Bluepay Services Lawsuits

We have not found any outstanding class-action lawsuits or FTC complaints filed against Bluepay. However, it appears that Blackhawk Processing, which may be connected to BluePay as noted above, was involved in a patent dispute in 2013. Dissatisfied merchants who wish to pursue a non-litigious course of action against the company should consider reporting it to the relevant supervisory organizations.

BluePay Customer Support Options

BluePay offers phone, chat, and e-mail support to all of its merchants, but it is unclear whether these lines are serviced by First Data or by BluePay’s independent customer service team. We are awarding the company a “B” in this category but do not consider BluePay to be one of the best customer service payment processors.

Note: We have adjusted this company’s BBB rating according to our own standards. To better understand why we adjust BBB ratings, please see our Rating Criteria.

BBB Accreditation Revoked

On November 28, 2018, BluePay’s BBB accreditation was revoked. It’s profile is prefaced with a notice explaining the reasons behind the revocation:

On 11/28/2018 this business’s accreditation in the BBB was revoked by the BBB’s Board of Directors due to its failure to adhere to the BBB requirement that Accredited Businesses meet and abide by the following standards:

6. Address marketplace disputes quickly, professionally, and in good faith.

6A. Promptly respond to all complaints forwarded by BBB by:

1. Resolving the complaint directly with the complainant and notifying BBB, or

2. Providing BBB with a response that BBB determines:

   • is professional,

   • addresses all of the issues raised by the complainant,

   • includes appropriate evidence and documents supporting the business’ position, and

   • explains why any relief sought by the complainant cannot or should not be granted.

Despite being notified of the BBB of its accreditation being revoked, BluePay still uses the bureau’s logo on its website:

Misuse of BBB Name and/or Logo

At the time of this review, BluePay has a Better Business Bureau rating of an “F”. The company’s profile is currently showing 9 complaints in the last 36 months. 5 of the complaints were due to a problem with a product or service and 4 were billing or collections issues. Only 2 of these 9 complaints were resolved by the company to the satisfaction of the merchant. The remaining 7 were resolved to the dissatisfaction of the merchant or received no final response.

What Merchants Are Saying

In addition to the 9 complaints filed with the BBB, BluePay has received 5 informal reviews on its profile, all of which are negative in tone. One review describes frustration with being billed after closing their account, a common complaint for BluePay:

My account was closed on 7/1/2020, but they continued to charge me up until 1/4/2021. They are refusing to refund all of the money they charged me in error. Their customer service representatives are very rude, particularly Delva, the supervisor. They will not allow me to speak to the analysts reviewing my case. The analysts will not respond to my repeated requests for a refund. They are stealing money out of the former customers accounts!

Merchants stuck in a similar situation can benefit from understanding how to cancel their accounts without having to pay unnecessary fees.

An “F” Rating

Based on BluePay’s complaint count, resolution ratio, size, revoked accreditation, and deceptive use of its standing with the BBB we are adjusting the BBB‘s rating to an “F” for the purposes of this review.

Three-Year Agreement

The processor’s standard merchant account contract is a three-year service agreement with a successive one-year automatic renewal clause. In the event of a service cancellation while under contract, a merchant may be subject to a $295cancellation fee that is automatically withdrawn from the merchant’s attached checking account. Though the company does not explicitly list rates on its website or program guide, merchant reviews reflect a swipe rate of 2.39% plus $0.25 and 2.99% plus $0.20 for keyed-in transactions. This is a feature that causes BluePay’s rating to fall somewhat.

Virtual Terminal and Payment Gateway Pricing

In addition to its storefront payment processing services, BluePay also dedicates a portion of its website to advertising its virtual terminal and payment gateway services. However, pricing on either of those services is not disclosed. Additional rates and fees, including gateway fees, technical support fees, batch fees, and additional transaction rates typically apply to these e-commerce services.

Level 2 and Level 3 Processing Services

In addition to its traditional merchant services, BluePay also advertises that it provides level 2 and level 3 processing for B2B and B2G transactions. Level 2 and level 3 processing rely upon different interchange rates than traditional consumer credit transactions. Accommodating those rates requires different payment processing technology from a merchant account provider to transmit the amount of data required to facilitate the transactions. These services are reserved for B2B and B2G purchases that utilize corporate credit cards.

Other Important Fees

BluePay’s website also fails to mention an annual PCI Compliance fee of $99 or a $15 monthly statement fee, among various other intermittent and smaller fees that have been reported in complaints. In some cases, the company may offer interchange-plus pricing to merchants who request it, but BluePay does not openly promote it as a merchant account pricing option. Overall, BluePay’s contract terms are not competitive with the cheapest merchant accounts available.

Multi-Faceted Sales Approach

BluePay appears to rely heavily on independent sales agents, telemarketing, partnerships, online marketing, and an inside sales staff to market its services. Since BluePay keeps the majority of its sales staff in-house, it helps the company maintain a higher level of quality control of the sales process. However, based on merchant feedback, BluePay’s sales team appears to be falling a little short in always openly revealing all of the company’s costs and terms. There are numerous merchant complaints on this site and elsewhere that mention nondisclosure of rates and fees by the company’s agents. If you are concerned that BluePay is overcharging you, we advise seeking a third-party statement audit to eliminate hidden fees.

Teaser Rate Quote

BluePay currently promotes rates “as low as 0.95%” on its website. This rate could set unrealistic expectations for credit card processing costs because merchants will likely only see a small fraction of their transactions processed at such a low discount rate. Additionally, it’s unlikely that most merchants will actually get the rates that BluePay displays on its website, as evidenced by a previously posted disclaimer that said the company’s rates are really “based on volume, average ticket and the types of credit card your customers pay with.”

Misleading Advertising

We have also located BluePay advertisements elsewhere on the internet (shown on the left) that advertise rates “as low as 0.05%.” These rates are clearly “teaser” rates and are not an accurate reflection of the average cost per transaction for most BluePay merchants. As with the examples on the company’s website, these quotes may give merchants an unrealistic expectation of the rates they will pay and are therefore deceptive in our view.

Room for Improvement

Overall, BluePay performs at an average level and has a moderate complaint level for its size and time in business. The company has a few areas to improve upon, with the main areas of concern being how BluePay quotes rates and fees on its website and its three-year contract with an auto-renewal clause. Merchants are advised to thoroughly read and understand the merchant account agreement before signing as a precaution against unwelcome surprises. Merchants can be sure to secure the best overall deal by comparing BluePay’s offerings to those of top-rated merchant services providers.